An Unsealed Heart
by RembrantOtaku
Summary: The Battle at the Valley of End takes a turn for the worse. Events unfold and decisions are made. Mature take on Naruto. Rated M for violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright. So I have rewritten my first chapter. If you have read my previous version of An Unsealed Heart then know that I will be making some changes to the story, just to make it flow better and fill in some gaps that I had left open. Think of the previous chapters as a Rough Draft. Slowly working on the next chapter, but college does take priority. I hope to put up at least 3 rewritten chapters by the end of the school year. I will definitely be pumping them out over the summer.**

**I hope y'all like the new direction I will take with this story. If you don't; don't read my story.**

**As always constructive criticism is welcomed.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

Chapter 1

Lighting arced across the sky, tracing irregular patterns in the dark, grey cloud cover. Rain cascaded upon the forested area below, creating a symphony of sound as the drops pelted the leaves in the canopy. In the lower part of the canopy, rustling could be heard. Not due to the swaying of branches in the wind, nor the impacts of the drops, but due to the lone ninja dashing through the branches. His bright orange garb stuck out painfully in contrast to the dark greens and browns of the canopy surrounding him. Branches shook as Naruto bounded across them, using his arms to swing as just as often as his legs. His breathing was slightly labored, but determination caused him not to notice the slight pain in his lungs.

He was close, he could sense it.

With a final burst of speed Naruto broke through the canopy, catapulting himself through the air before landing on the top of a massive statue; one of two that framed the sides of a massive waterfall. Naruto glanced upward as soon as he landed, his blue eyes peering through the rain until they focused upon another young ninja, one with a red and white fan symbol on his back.

"SASUKE!"

That single word rang out across the river, resonating even over the roar of the waterfall, and was punctuated by another crash of thunder.

Sasuke stopped and turned, looking across his shoulder at Naruto, an arrogant grin forming on his face.

"Well what do you know, I go and leave the village, me, an Uchiha, and the Leaf sends the frickin' dead last to come get me. Now that's just insulting." As he shouted these words, Sasuke turned. The pair of genin stood and faced one another on the tops of the statues, mirroring the positions of Harashima and Madara so many years before them. Lighting flashed across the sky yet again.

"Why Sasuke? Why are you doing this?" Naruto pleaded, "What reason could you possibly have for betraying the village?"

Sasuke's grin expanded further, parting his lips enough to show his upper teeth.

"Power, Naruto" Sasuke replied, "I am an Avenger. My only goal in life is the kill one man. I need power to do so and Orochimaru can give that to me."

"But this is your home Sasuke!" Naruto yelled only to be cut off by Sasuke's vehement response.

"I have no home!" Sasuke roared, his demeanor taking a one-eighty from arrogant calmness to blind anger, "My family was my home, my clan was my home. My home is gone! It was all taken from me right before my very eyes! I have nothing left!"

"I understand what it's like to be alone Sasuke…" Naruto tried to say only to be interrupted by the Uchiha yet again.

"No you don't! You have no idea how I feel Naruto! You have never had a family, and that is the reason you will never understand! My pain is so great because I had those bonds! Don't you dare try and say that you understand my pain; don't you _fucking _dare!"

Naruto was taken aback. Never before had he seen Sasuke so angry; hell, he had never seen him display _any _emotion to this extent. He had always been emotionally detached towards him, even when he did show some emotion it was always restrained. But now the Uchiha's face was contorted with rage, his eyes already twisting into the tomoe'd form of the sharingan.

"Sasuke…is that what you think? What about team 7? Are we not your family, did everything really mean nothing to you?"

"Of course it meant something Naruto." Sasuke stated, surprising the blonde. "And that's the beauty of it. It had to happen. I told you before, I am an avenger. I seek only power; power to take revenge upon the man who took my world from me. To do that I need eyes, eyes of unparalleled power, and it is because of the bond that we share that you can help me get them."

Sasuke paused, locking his gaze with Naruto's.

"You are my one friend in this world, and through your death I will gain this power. The Mangenko Sharingan."

Naruto stared and gaped at his friend, not believing what he was hearing.

"Sasuke…you're talking like a madman. You can't be serious. Please let's go back to the village. Granny Tsunade can help you. Kakashi-sensei can help you. Please Sasuke, let me help you…" Naruto pleaded, only to be stopped by Sasuke's outburst.

"You can help me by dying!" Roared Sasuke, throwing a kunai from each hand as he leapt forward, falling through the air towards the water below. Naruto reacted instantly, dodging the first kunai by shifting his weight to the side and knocking the next one out of the air using his own kunai. He followed Sasuke's lead, leaping from his position atop the statue's head. The genin landed upon the surface of the water within moments of each other; Sasuke landed without a problem while Naruto crashed through the water and lurched back up sputtering. Sasuke laughed condescendingly, before breaking into a dead sprint towards the blonde. Naruto had barely managed to recover onto the surface of the water before Sasuke delivered an uppercut into his abdomen, the force of which took the boy off of his feet slightly. Sasuke's grin disappeared, however, when he felt his blow sink further into the blonde than it should have been able to, causing the figure before him to vanish in a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke wasn't given a chance to recover, let alone get a deep breath in before a hand shot out of the water, grabbing Sasuke's achilles heel and dragging him under the surface. Sasuke grabbed a kunai from his holster and plunged it into the hand that had grabbed him, causing yet another of Naruto's clones to dispel. He tumbled in the current for a few seconds before steadying himself with chakra, when he did; Sasuke took in the sight before him. Under the water were dozens of clones, surrounding him from all directions.

_Shit,_ was the singular thought that passed through Sasuke's mind. With a silent roar the clones began to charge Sasuke who did the one thing he could think of; he started to charge up his chidori. Electricity crackled to life in the cup of Sasuke's palm, flaring and pulsing for a moment before dispersing violently through the water. Bolts of lightning cut through the water, dispelling all of the clones in the vicinity and electrocuting both Naruto and Sasuke. Both the boy's bodies went ridged as the voltage raced through them, losing their breath as their muscles spasmed. Sasuke quickly ended the formation of his jutsu and both boys struggled onto the water's surface once more, small sparks of electricity still arcing across the boy's bodies and in the surrounding waters. The boys stood on their feet, muscles still recovering from the electrical overload, mere feet from each other.

"Sasuke, think about what you're doing!" Naruto pleaded in between sputtering coughs. "They must have done something to you, you're not thinking straight!"

His pleas fell on deaf ears however as Sasuke unholstered a kunai and charged the blonde ninja, a feral look on his face. Sasuke swung the kunai in his left hand, aiming for Naruto's neck but was stopped as Naruto raised his right forearm to intercept the strike. In an immediate counter attack, Naruto threw a punch into Sauske's stomach and followed through with a right hook to the raven-haired teen face. Sasuke's face darkened even further as he retaliated, swinging madly. In an attempt to restrain his friend, Naruto managed to capture both of his arms, trapping them in his armpits.

"STOP IT SASUKE!" Naruto shouted, but Sasuke's only response was to headbutt him. Breaking Naruto's nose across his forehead with a sickening crunch and forcing Naruto to release his arms. He lashed out again, kunai slicing through Naruto's orange outer jacket as the boy recoiled from the previous blow. Naruto flipped backwards, putting some distance between them. He recovered quickly, discarding his ruined jacket in the process; the loose fabric would only get in his way. Now clad in a solid black t-shirt Naruto rose to his feet, pressing the back of his right hand to his nostrils in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood.

"Sasuke..." the blonde started, but stopped as their eyes met.

He had seen those eyes before, though never on someone he cared about. No, only the villagers had ever stared at him like that; with those cold, piercing eyes. The same eyes that haunted his every step, even in his dreams. The eyes that had almost driven him to madness; which charged, judged, and convicted him for atrocities he had no knowledge of. Eyes that only saw the monster inside of him, regarding him as less than human.

But everything had changed.

Iruka had acknowledged him.

Not as the kyuubi like the villagers did, not like a time bomb that could explode at any given moment and destroy everything.

But as himself.

As Naruto.

After that the eyes that followed him through the village lost their bite. And when others began to acknowledge him as well…Shikamaru, Lee, Choji, Ino, Sakura, Kakashi…the eyes had no effect on him. He had his shelter, a place where he belonged, a home.

But now, seeing Sasuke, one of his precious people, his brother, with that same coldness in his eyes, the coldness that contained the hatred and the wrath and the desire to wipe his existence from the face of the earth, cut Naruto deeper than any blade ever had.

"No…Not you Sasuke…" Naruto whispered, tears streaming from his eyes, only to be lost in the rain. Sasuke charged again, but Naruto barely registered that fact. His sapphire eyes gazed past Sasuke, out into space. Time seemed to slow to Naruto until it stopped altogether. The sound of a droplet in a sewer shattered the silence in Naruto's mind. He was in the sewers of his mind once more, back in the place he had been before summoning Gamabunta for the first time. With trepidation, Naruto slowly turned around to gaze at the massive gate and seal. Like a child peering into his closet at night, imagining the monstrosities that lay in wait in the darkness. Only this time there could be no comfort; no parent could come to him, shine a light into the darkness and ease his fears.

He knew what lurked in those shadows.

A monster that he knew was all too real.

The monster's eye slowly opened in the darkness, glowing with a fierce and malevolent light as it stared back into Naruto's wide, fear-stricken eyes.

"**It hurts doesn't it?" **the kyuubi asked, its deep, gravelly voice echoing in the dark chamber. It was laced with venom and weighed with the hatred of centuries, but had a melody to it that was sweeter than any symphony. Naruto was stricken, his attention captured by the sheer presence of the creature before him.

"**To be betrayed by that boy…by your brother..." **it continued, **"I understand that feeling…"**

"Wha-what would you know about any of this?" Naruto managed to stammer out, trying as best he could to regain his composure.

"**Don't presume to know me boy!" **the kyuubi roared, the force and pressure of which caused Naruto to stumble backwards, spilling onto his behind. **"Not even Madara Uchiha was that vain! I have lived for centuries; you cannot even begin to fathom the depths of my knowledge and power. Not only that, I am sealed within you. As such I am privy to your every emotion, as disgusting as that is, so believe me when I say that I understand you more than you do yourself." **The malicious pressure behind the kyuubi's words began to lift after his last statement, allowing Naruto to stand once more; which he did, cautiously.

"**I can make that pain vanish…" **the kyuubi continued, his voice taking on that poison sweetness once more. Naruto regarded the eye that shone behind the bars with disbelief, his eyes wide and shaking.

"Th-This is a trick…" he said, and the kyuubi merely chuckled.

"**No tricks, boy. Take some of my chakra, see that what I say is true…" **the kyuubi said deviously as fog-like, bubbling, red chakra leaked out from behind the bars of the cage. It billowed forth, latching onto Naruto's body. At first he resisted, until the euphoria washed over him; the feeling of vast, almost endless power. Naruto felt invincible, as if he could do anything, and the kyuubi didn't lie.

The pain was gone.

Replaced by anger.

_How could Sasuke betray him like this?_

"**How indeed Naruto…all that Sasuke cares about is power…show him. Show him our strength. Make him acknowledge you again…"**

_Yes…_

The wheels of time began to turn once more, starting slowly before gaining momentum rapidly. Sasuke charged him, aiming the kunai for his jugular vein, but Naruto saw it coming.

He saw everything, felt everything. He saw the swaying of the tree branches, how each leaf reacted as rain pelted them. He felt the chill of each raindrop, and the light breeze caused by the waterfall not a hundred yards from where they stood. He could hear each peal of thunder and recognized their differences, even taste the singed air as the plasma tore across the sky. Everything was crisper and sharper. Naruto caught Sasuke's incoming blow with ease, his nails digging into the youth's flesh until the blade was dropped. All of this was thanks to the kyuubi's chakra.

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as Naruto caught his blow, then once again at the pain of the blonde's nails on his wrist. His lips peeled back in a pained grin as he dropped the kunai. Something was different about Naruto, though Sasuke was not able to say what caused this change. This wasn't the dead last that Sasuke knew. A new air hung around the boy, Sasuke could feel it. Sasuke turned his head, ready to taunt Naruto, force him into opening himself up, but stopped as he made eye contact.

Gone were Naruto's cerulean eyes, replaced instead with slitted, blood-red irises; the eyes of a beast, full of raw emotion. Something instinctual inside Sasuke screamed at him to run, to place as much distance between him and those eyes, black flames began to spread out of the curse mark on Sasuke's shoulder without his control, changing those instincts from flight to fight. Sasuke struck out, only to have his fist smacked away and for Naruto to grab the collar of his shirt and pull Sasuke in closer. Their eyes deadlocked and Naruto let loose an animalistic roar into Sasuke's face, his whisker marks expanding and his canines lengthening, further emphasizing his feral appearance. Naruto flung Sasuke, propelling him several yards as the air around Naruto exploded with red, corrosive chakra.

Sasuke flung his arms forward, crossing them in front of his face in order to shield his eyes from the whipping wind generated by Naruto's chakra. He recognized this chakra; it was the same power that Naruto used in his fight against Neji, only more powerful, much more powerful. Sasuke activated his sharingan, hoping to get a better grasp of what kind of jutsu or bloodline limit the blonde was using, only to almost have his eyes bulge from their sockets.

The red chakra that was visible to the naked eye was only the tip of the iceberg. With his sharingan, Sasuke was able to see a massive amount of chakra, curling high above the boy. Not only that, he could tell that this wasn't Naruto's chakra; Naruto had blue chakra and he could see the traces of blue inside the blonde's body. No, this was a separate chakra. Was there such a bloodline limit? Could Naruto have two separate and distinct chakras?

Then it looked at him.

That was the only way Sasuke could describe how the rolling, maelstrom of chakra moved. It was as if the chakra itself was alive. But that was impossible; chakra wasn't organic, it couldn't be alive. However Sasuke didn't have time to ponder this mystery as Naruto charged the raven-crested boy. He rushed past the Uchiha's defenses and delivered three quick punches to his gut and then struck him across the cheek with a roundhouse kick. Sasuke flew to the side, but managed to throw a shuriken before he hit the water. The shuriken's aim was true and hit Naruto across the face, carving a deep gash across the bridge of his nose, much like what must have happened to Iruka. Sasuke smirked triumphantly but the grin he wore was wiped off his face as the gash on Naruto's face healed itself, as if an invisible needle and thread worked its way across the torn flesh. Naruto threw his arm forward, causing a giant red chakra arm to extend and grab Sasuke by the ankle. He then proceeded to whip Sasuke across the valley, smashing him into various points along the cliffside and river before throwing him down into the depths of the water.

"_This is impossible!" _shouted Sasuke inside of his head. _"There's no way the idiot could have this much power! I can't lose to the dead last! I am an avenger, tasked with cleansing the Uchiha name and I will not defile it further by losing to a nobody!" _With that final vow Sasuke allowed the power of the curse mark to completely overwhelm his body. His body took on a grayish hue, his eyes turned black as coals and his hair turned gray and unruly. From his back sprouted two winged that resembled webbed hands, and using these Sasuke propelled himself through the water. Like a great white shark he launched himself at his prey, grabbing Naruto with his newfound talons and flying into the air.

Up they rose into the clouds, lightning flashing all about them. A fox and a hawk, both fighting for supremacy as they ascended into the heavens. Sasuke's talons scratched at Naruto, causing deep furrows while the acid-like chakra of the nine-tails cloak ate away at Sasuke's armor like outer skin. However both of the boy's bodies regenerated faster than they could damage the other. Naruto's skin stitched the furrows together while Sasuke's ashen skin kept rebuilding itself in a block-like manner. They tumbled upwards through the air, Sasuke somehow managing to get in a position where he held Naruto's arm firmly before tearing it out of its socket. Naruto roared in pain, before grabbing the nape of Sasuke's neck with his other arm and biting down into Sasuke's shoulder. The Uchiha released Naruto and the blonde fell away, but not before conjuring a massive chakra arm from his cloak which grabbed the leathery wing of his foe and pulled them down together. The duo crashed into the river, back to the same point where their fight started. They surfaced again, mimicking the statues that framed the waterfall. A wordless agreement passed between them as they stared one another down.

The sound of birds filled the area as crackling blue electricity began to coalesce in Sasuke's palm, flowing through the falling raindrops and even the air itself. In response Naruto formed a rasengan in the palm of his remaining arm. The two boys charged each other for the last time, committing every ounce of power they possessed into a final attack. They clashed, the raw power of their techniques colliding bursting out like an explosion of light. As they clashed Naruto could feel his technique wavering, a consequence of it being the first time he had made a rasengan without the aid of a clone. With each passing moment the spiraling ball of energy grew more unstable, wobbled more out of sync. After a final tense moment, the rasengan shattered and Sasuke continued forward, thrusting his charged hand into Naruto's chest.

In that singular moment Naruto's life flashed before his eyes; memories of the academy, of his pranks in the village, Iruka. Horrible nightmares came with them, of the torments the villagers put him through, the nights when he cried himself to sleep. Then came the memories of team seven, of Kakashi, Sakura…

Sasuke…

He relived all of those experiences; tying Sasuke up to try and kiss Sakura, the three of them attempting to find out what Kakashi hid underneath his mask, the mission in the land of waves, the chunnin exams up until the current moment.

The red chakra cloak immediately dispelled as Sasuke impaled him. Naruto looked dumbly down at the arm sprouting out of his body, then up at Sasuke. Sasuke merely smirked at the blonde.

"Finally of some use, dead last."

And with that he pushed Naruto into the waterfall.

Naruto fell, and as it happened only one thought passed through his mind.

_I failed._

"**Giving up so soon Naruto?"**

Once again in the sewers of his mind Naruto found himself before the giant cage, the terrifying yet alluring presence of the kyuubi filling the area. All the while Naruto gazed into the darkness, his expression broken and vulnerable.

"**Are you truly giving up Naruto? After all that you have worked for? The recognition you fought to achieve? What of your dream to become Hokage?"** the fox inquired, his insidious voice resonating inside Naruto's mind. Wordlessly the boy stood, staring into the blackness.

"**What about your friends Naruto? Will you just abandon them? Hurt them because of your own weakness?"**

"**Then there's…Sakura-chan…" **The kyuubi said the pinkette's name tauntingly. Naruto's eyes, previously dead from emotion snapped towards the kyuubi, wide and terrified. In response the kyuubi lowered its head, staring at the boy's eye level.

"**Are you really going to break that promise you made to her?"** he continued manipulatively, **"It was the promise of a lifetime wasn't it? Isn't it your ninja way to never go back on your word? Do you really think that she would ever be able to forgive you for that?"**

"**No…she wouldn't. She would curse you, for you abandoned your comrades Naruto…"**

"N-no I…" Naruto tried to stammer out before being interrupted.

"**Less than trash…isn't that what Kakashi told all of you?"**

"But I didn't mean to-"

"**That doesn't matter Naruto. You abandoned them all…Kiba, Shino, Choji, Lee, Shikamaru, Garra, Sakura, Kakashi…but most of all you abandoned Sasuke. You abandoned him to his hatred, and gave up when he needed you most…"**

Naruto was left speechless at the fox's words, he drank them in, not tasting the venom they were laced with.

"**But I can help you Naruto"** whispered the kyuubi. **"I can make all your troubles go away. I can save you, heal you, give you the power to save Sasuke. The power to protect your friends, you won't have to abandon them like you did to Choji, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee to get to Sasuke. I can give you the power to become Hokage, to make the entire village recognize you, to praise and love you. I can give you the power to complete your promise to your beloved Sakura-chan."**

Naruto staggered to the gate, hanging on the kyuubi's every word. Vile, red chakra gathered at his feet once he reached the base of the massive bars, lifting him up so that he may better access the seal. He reached out to grasp the edge of the paper, only to stop; conflicted about whether or not to tear the seal.

"**I can give you the power to reunite team 7. To get your family back…"**

Naruto's eyes hardened with resolve and he gripped the seal, but just before he ripped it off a hand grabbed his wrist and forced him back, pulling him into an embrace. Naruto didn't recognize the embrace for what it was; he only saw the chance to get his team, his family, back slipping away from him, and so he struggled to get it back.

"He can't give it to you Naruto…" a voice murmured in his ear.

Naruto couldn't believe that. Team seven was where he belonged. He couldn't let that go.

"It's a trick Naruto…"

No it couldn't be, even if it was he still had to try. Tears streamed down Naruto's face, the flurry of emotions inside of him finally starting to overwhelm him.

"It's alright…"

With that Naruto broke down, sobs racking his body. He curled into the arms that held him; the touch was alien, yet at the same time felt right.

"I'm here son…"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything else that will get me sued.

Chapter 2

XXXXXX

Kakashi Hatake raced through the tree branches, his one uncovered eye squinting due to the rain pelting his face. His expression was grim; ascertainable by the way his wet mask clung to his skin, allowing some of his smaller facial features to show through the fabric. The rain caused his ever spiky silver hair to droop down forward across his face. About a meter in front of him a small dog struggled to track the scent of the genin that had passed through the same place earlier. They leaped and bounded from one branch to another until, with a growl, Pakkun stopped abruptly on a thick tree limb.

"What is it Pakkun?" inquired the copy ninja as he landed deftly on the mossy branch and squatted down beside his summon. The dog didn't respond right away, instead scouring the area with his nose. Soon he stopped and turned to face Kakashi.

"I lost the scent," stated Pakkun, and then proceeding to shake his head rapidly to clear some of the rain out of his fur.

"Can we pick it back up again?" asked Kakashi, the stress obvious in his voice. Pakkun looked back up at his summoner, surprised by the emotion. Anyone else might have been appalled at the lack of emotion the man displayed, but Kakashi wasn't an ordinary man. Pakkun had known Kakashi since he was a child, being his father's summon. He had been somewhat reserved back then, nothing like he was now, until the incident with his father, the White Fang, occurred.

Kakashi had shut himself off from the world, choosing to hide himself from the judgment of others behind that mask he now wore, convincing himself that he wore the mask out of grief, and dedicating himself to the Ninja code. Obito had been the one to break him out of that mindset, showing him that his father had been right to put his comrades before the mission. Obito died soon after, and Kakashi had carried on his teammate's ideals in honor of his memory. Likewise he kept his mask on to remind himself of the damage his previous ideals had caused. Even so, even with everything that changed regarding Kakashi, he had never truly regained his emotions. To Pakkun, the small amount of emotion the Kakashi displayed was the equivalent to another man in hysterics.

"Sorry boss, with all this rain the only reason we were able to follow them this far is because of the rest of the team that they left behind. Like a trail of breadcrumbs." Pakkun replied. To speak of the devil it was at that moment that Kakashi received the memories of his shadow clone that he had ordered to take Choji back to the village. It wouldn't be long before the other injured members of the retrieval team would get back as well. The guards at the gate would make sure they got the proper medical attention. Kakashi sighed, wiping the rain out of his eye before responding to Pakkun.

"Are you absolutely certain?" Kakashi asked, almost pleading for Pakkun to say no. Pakkun lowered his ears, anticipating the hurt that his master will feel with what he said next.

"The rain washed away everything boss. All of their scent is gone."

Kakashi sat silently, letting the rain wash over him as he thought, desperately trying to think of another way to track the genin through the drenching storm. A few moments passed with no ideas coming to Kakashi when Pakkun's ears perked up and his head snapped to the right.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, taking notice of Pakkun's sudden action.

"…Birds?" Pakkun asked himself quietly, his ears twitching as he attempted to locate the source of the sound only his sensitive ears could pick up. It proved to be unnecessary however, as a large, drawn-out explosion permeated the twilight air, clearly distinguishing itself from the occasional peals of thunder.

Kakashi sprang from his position on the tree limb, quickly putting two and two together.

"Hey! Wait up boss!" cried Pakkun as he bounded off after the cycloptic ninja. Kakashi paid no head though; increasing his pace as he rocketed through the canopy and leaving the dog in the dust, a single thought running through his head.

_Hold on Naruto…Sasuke…_

XXXXX

A tingling sensation grew in Sasuke's arms as he poured chakra into his palm, pushing it in circuit-like patterns to generate the electricity required to perform the chidori. Straight ahead of him Naruto began forming a sphere of spinning blue chakra, the same sphere he had created on the rooftop of the hospital, only this time is was tainted with the red chakra the blonde was emitting. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he remembered the damage to the water tower that that technique had caused and pushed even more chakra into his charging chidori, causing the tingling sensation to turn painful. The sound of the chidori, resembling a thousand chirping birds, also grew in intensity. Looking again at Naruto, Sasuke could see the rasengan growing as well, getting as large as a basketball, spinning faster and actually affecting the wave patterns in the water due to the sphere's inertia. Their eyes met across the field and an unspoken agreement passed between them.

This would be their last attack; a final technique to decide everything.

_I'll show you the power of the Uchiha! I'll show you how feeble your attempts to grow stronger are._

Sasuke poured more chakra into his technique, ignoring the pain. Electricity spilled out of his lowered palm, affecting even his sharingan eyes with a tunneling effect. The shrieking sound of the chidori rose to even greater heights before vanishing altogether, passing above the human range of hearing. He barreled forward across the water, his chidori carving a swath like the bow of a ship. His eyes worked overtime, darting back and forth in every which-way as they tried to compensate for the tunnel vision caused by the lightning technique. In front of him, he saw the bestial form of Naruto raise his one remaining arm, aiming to block the Uchiha with the orb of chakra.

The techniques met.

The force of the impact was greater than Sasuke had anticipated, almost plowing him back. He held his ground though, pushing into the fray with all of his might. The light overwhelmed his Sharingan, forcing him to close his eyes. The heat was the same, had it not been for the ashen colored outer skin from the curse mark, Sasuke wouldn't have been able to survive it.

These pains, these obstacles were what would make him stronger; strong enough to kill Itachi. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke poured even more chakra into his attack, ignoring the searing pain that coursed through him. Anger began to build inside Sasuke. The idiot, the dead last, the class clown, was able to hold him, an Uchiha, one of the most powerful clans in the Leaf Village, back! It was unacceptable! The anger boiled inside of Sasuke until it blew up.

"You won't defeat me! I am stronger than you! You're nothing but dead weight! A failed ninja! YOU! ARE! NOTHING!" he screamed, but his voice was lost to the noise of the clash. Suddenly he felt the tide change; Naruto was beginning to lose ground. Sasuke pushed forward, slowly at first, until Naruto's rasengan failed with a sharp retort and Sasuke rushed forward with his momentum, plunging the chidori through the blonde's chest.

The smirk on Sasuke's face never fell as he watched Naruto's expression turn from one of grim determination to one of shock. The boy before him looked down dumbly at the arm that protruded from his chest. Sasuke felt the muscles in the boy's chest convulse as he tried to breathe through his now nonexistent lungs. Blood trickled down his forearm, not much due to how the electricity cauterized the wound, but enough of it to trickle down Sasuke's arm like rivers on a map.

"Finally of some use dead last."

The statement caused the blonde to look up, meeting Sasuke's gaze. That dumbfounded look never left Naruto's face, not even as his eyes began to glaze over. Sasuke's grin turned into a snarl as he attempted to pull his arm back out of Naruto's chest cavity, but was unable to do so. Sasuke placed his foot on Naruto's stomach and pushed, pulling his arm out and sending Naruto over the waterfall's edge.

Sasuke watched as the boy fell, all the way until his body disappeared into the mist below. Sasuke wiped his hand up his face, from chin to forehead and continuing on to wipe his hair back, covering it all with blood.

He began to laugh.

It started slowly, spaced out and hesitant, but gradually the cackles got louder and faster. An unnatural, ear-splitting smiled appeared on Sasuke's face. Laughter racked the boy's curse sealed form, affecting his ability to stand as he fell down to his knees. He continued to laugh manically for a moment, never faltering until he threw his head back and screamed as his curse seal receded.

Sasuke's scream was not one you would have expected from someone who had been laughing up until that moment. It was a scream that was filled with anguish and pain. Tears of blood leaked out from Sasuke's closed eyes as his sharingan transformed. His laughter melted into the anguished cry, causing Sasuke's true frame of mind to come to light.

He was straddling the border between pain a pleasure; between agony and ecstasy; between sanity and insanity.

It was sometime before Sasuke calmed down enough to stop screaming and laughing like a crazed maniac. When he did, he activated his new Mangekyou Sharingan to evaluate his newfound power.

He could feel the power and energy in his eyes, rivaling even the power he had felt from Orochimaru's curse mark. Every detail of the world surrounding him was crisp and clean, enabling him to count the number of raindrops that fell in front of him for small bursts of time. However his eye soon began to feel fuzzy, Sasuke moved his hand to rub his eyes without thinking and was surprised at how slowly his own body seemed to move

'_Seems that I have to get used to this…'_ though Sasuke. He opened and closed his fists a few times and, now familiar with the speed at his body responded, rose to his feet, but he sound of someone landing on the surface of the water stopped him from moving any further.

Kakashi regarded Sasuke with his single, uncovered eye. The genin stood with his back facing the jonin, his clothes torn to shreds, so much so that the boy might as well have been shirtless. The cycloptic ninja knew that Sasuke was aware of his presence, he had made a point to land loud enough to be heard, yet the boy hadn't moved an inch.

"Where is Naruto, Sasuke?" asked Kakashi, his voice short and sharp, like a dagger. The absence of the blonde was the first thing that Kakashi had noticed, and the fact troubled him. He was no stranger to the stages of progression that the Sharingan went through, having gone through a few stages with Obito's eye himself. He knew that Sasuke was unstable right now, and Orochimaru's curse seal sure as hell wasn't going to make Sasuke any more rational. That coupled with Sasuke's obsession with gaining power made for some uncomfortable possibilities, and even some that scared the hell out of Kakashi.

"Where is Naruto, Sasuke?" Kakashi repeated with more force. The raven haired boy offered no answer to his sensei, but instead turned to face him. Kakashi's eyes widened visibly as he took in the blood soaked visage of his student, though it wasn't until Kakashi saw Sasuke's eyes that his worse fear was confirmed.

'_Sasuke killed Naruto!'_

Kakashi was in shock, he knew that this was a possibility but he had never imagined that Sasuke would go so far as to kill Naruto. He had thought that Sasuke's hatred for Itachi would cause him to reject any path that his older brother took to gain power so as to separate himself from Itachi.

But Kakashi had been wrong, and now Naruto had paid the ultimate price for his mistake.

Just like with Obito.

Just like with Rin.

He had failed again.

He had failed the boy that he had considered family; his sensei's son. The one shining ray of hope from his past that was so drenched in blood and misfortune that it was almost impossible to see anything else.

He had been forbidden to approach Naruto when he was a child, thanks to Danzo's manipulation of the council. Hiruzen himself had barely been able to keep Naruto from becoming the weapon Danzo desired, condemning Naruto to his life of isolation so that his freedom might be saved. Yet this had not stopped Kakashi from protecting Naruto at every opportunity he was able to. He couldn't count the number of times that he disarmed traps in Naruto's apartment, or prevented small mobs from catching the boy. Yet even as much as Kakashi tried, Naruto still wore several scars from encounters with the villagers, a fact that still tormented Kakashi. It was shortly after that that the men who were boasting about their accomplishment in a local bar were found battered and bloodied, strung up in a wheat field like scarecrows. After that, most of the attempts on Naruto's life stopped and the villagers settled for ignoring the boy.

It was one of the happiest days in Kakashi's life when Hiruzen picked him to be Naruto's sensei, crying for the first time in years. It was the chance he had been waiting for; a chance to help Naruto directly instead of being confined to the shadows. Naruto didn't fail to impress him, acting like Minato in so many ways that Kakashi was impressed that the Hokage had been able to keep Naruto's lineage a secret. Kakashi had planned on training Naruto personally for the chunnin exams, but had acquiesced the task to Jiraya when he requested to train his godson, and had therefore planned on taking Naruto under his wing after the exams concluded.

But now Naruto, Kakashi's last precious person, was gone.

And Kakashi was pissed.

Sasuke had no time to think let alone react to what Kakashi did next. In a single, fluid motion and in the blink of an eye Kakashi withdrew a kunai and closed the distance between them. In the same instant a figure darted from the top of the stone statue of Madara Uchiha and pulled Sasuke back from the deadly attack. Kakashi halted at the peak of his lunge, stopped by some unseen force, his kunai hovering exactly where Sasuke's eyes had been moments before.

"What's this?" asked the man who had pulled Sasuke out of harm's way, "Sharingan Kakashi dropped his guard?"

Sasuke looked back at the man and was surprised to see the lanky figure of Kabuto behind him, the man's hand still gripping Sasuke's shoulder.

"Even in a fight against a genin, you should be more careful Kakashi. Did you really think that Orochimaru would send a team that could be defeated by those brats, for his new body? Especially considering the Sharingan?" Kabuto chided, earning a death glare from Kakashi before the one uncovered eye returned to Sasuke, dark and accusing. Sasuke shied away from his sensei's glare, clearly shaken at the amount of hatred being directed at him. Slight tremors shook Kakashi's body as the jonin tried to move, but was unable to; the result being a slight grunt from the silver haired ninja.

"Now, Now, Kakashi. I wouldn't be trying to move if I were you." Kabuto said in mock concern, moving in close and looking Kakashi square in the eyes. "If you do you will only tire yourself out, and that will only hasten your death." Said Kabuto, continuing his statement with a sadistic smile on his face,

Turning back around, Kabuto looked down at Sasuke for a moment before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"It's time to start your training Sasuke. If you would be so kind as to come with me." Kabuto requested calmly, a slight grin gracing his face, but in a manner that warned the boy not to disobey. Sasuke looked back at Kakashi once more, before following Kabuto into the forest. But before he disappeared from his sensei's sight, Kakashi spoke up.

"You've fallen Sasuke…"

Sasuke stopped briefly at Kakashi's words but continued on his path, not daring to look back again. Sasuke and Kabuto walked for a few minutes in silence before it was broken by Sasuke.

"What will happen to him?" Sasuke inquired. His question was met with a short silence before Kabuto answered.

"Well, that depends on Kakashi." Kabuto replied, "If he can figure out my technique then he will live, if not then he will drown once he runs out of chakra to keep himself above the water."

"Hn," was the only response the answer prompted out of the Uchiha, and the rest of the journey to the village hidden in sound was plagued with silence.

XXXXX

Kakashi watched as his pupil followed the sound ninja into the forest, unable to move his joints in any way. Every time he attempted to move pain lanced up from his joints. Kakashi cursed himself for his mistake. He had let himself be blinded by his emotions, and was now paralyzed on top of a river in the freezing rain. Glancing at his outstretched arm, the only portion of his body he was able to see without moving his head, he was unable to notice anything out of the ordinary. He was also sure that Kabuto hadn't used any chakra in some sort of ninjutsu or genjustsu attack; even if he had let his guard down, detecting chakra attacks was almost an instinct, a result of years of war and battles. And so, any idea on how to get out of his current condition escaped Kakashi. Soon, however, Kakashi noticed a welcome presence approaching him.

"What happened to you Boss?" Pakkun asked as he trotted up to his summoner, tilting his head slightly to one side as he studied Kakashi's predicament.

"I was careless," answered Kakashi, his voice still edged and angry which caused Pakkun to shirk down slightly. "It's some kind of technique that is preventing me from moving. I need you to uncover my eye Pakkun."

"Boss…" Pakkun said, visibly shaken by the tone of his master. Kakashi hadn't even looked at the dog and was still staring murderously into the forest, bloodlust radiating off of him.

"What are you doing?! I told you to…" Kakashi started to shout but stopped when he finally looked at his summon. The pug was a good yard away from Kakashi's frozen body, shaking and with his tail between his legs, something that Kakashi would have never imagined from the dog who had stood steadfastly by his side through the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha. Kakashi's eyes immediately softened and the bloodlust lessened by leaps and bounds.

"I'm sorry Pakkun." Kakashi said sincerely, all anger gone from his voice. "I need your help…Please, help me uncover my sharingan."The pug cautiously approached the man, before jumping up onto his back and clambering up to Kakashi's shoulder where Pakkun pushed the headband up using his nose. Kakashi's sharingan flared to life, swirling into its tamoed form. Looking back along his outstretched arm, Kakashi looked for an explanation to his predicament which he soon found. Implanted into each of his major joints were extremely small senbon, so small that they were all but invisible to the naked eye.

_Kabuto must have thrown these in order to block my joints. To be able to throw so many as to completely immobilize me, as fast as he did…It's no wonder Orochimaru took a liking to him,_ thought Kakashi as he located all the needles in his arm.

"Pakkun," Kakashi stated, causing the dog's ears to perk up in response, "I need you to pull out the senbon that are stuck in my joints. Can you do that?"

Pakkun glanced at where his master has mentioned, eventually finding the needles that Kakashi had spoken about.

"The only way I could get those out is to literally dig them out boss," Pakkun stated, gesturing with his paw, "and doing that will hurt quite a bit."

Kakashi's eyes flicked over to meet the pug's.

"Do it."

Pakkun started immediately, biting down onto Kakashi's shoulder where one of the needles was located, tearing into the man's flesh in addition to raking the area with his claws until he eventually removed the two-inch long metal object. Slowly Pakkun worked his way around Kakashi, freeing his shoulders, elbows, wrists, neck, pelvis, knees and ankles in a systematic manner. Eventually after about an hour the last needle was removed and Kakashi allowed himself to fall into the water, using a burst of chakra from his feet to propel himself to the riverbank where he collapsed due to the pain in his joints.

With a great physical effort, Kakashi hoisted his body onto his knees and tilted his face back into the rain. Immediately Kakashi started to heal his wrists, a green glow emanating from his hands, a trick that Rin had taught him a long time ago. He kneeled there for a good while, allowing himself time to think and to rest. While he yearned to go after Kabuto and Sasuke, Kakashi knew that he shouldn't. While he would be able to take care of Sasuke without any issues, Kabuto was another matter. Reports said that he was Orochimaru's right hand man, able to hold his own against Tsunade in a fight, a fact that didn't put the odds in Kakashi's favor, especially considering the state all of his joints were now in. In any case, he had to make sure that the wounded members of the retrieval team got back to Konoha safely.

A pang of guilt accosted Kakashi as he thought of his hyperactive student and the fact that he wouldn't be coming home.

"Kakashi..." asked Pakkun worriedly, breaking Kakashi out of his thought induced trance. It was then that Kakashi realized that Pakkun still didn't know what had occurred.

"I failed him again, Pakkun." Kakashi said his voice thick with emotion. "I've failed my sensei yet again. I let his son die."

Pakkun's eyes widened in realization to who his summoner was talking about. "Naruto's..."

A silent nod from Kakashi answered both the pug's unasked questions.

"I need you to find his body." Kakashi stated as he rose to a standing position, looking down at the ninja hound. Pakkun immediately started sniffing the air around the valley, straining his nostrils to locate the blonde's scent in the downpour. Catching a whiff, Pakkun yelped and started pawing at his nostrils which burned because of what he picked up. He recovered quickly however and replied to Kakashi's request.

"He used the fox's chakra during the fight." Pakkun said gravely. Kakashi, however, took this news and saw the hope that it held. He had questioned Naruto on how he had used the Kyuubi's chakra during the chunnin exams and remembered what Naruto had said.

_"That bastard fox hates to lose, so he gives it to me sometimes so I can win." Naruto replied, his ever present grin plastered on his face. Kakashi, however, was not as calm about the situation._

_"You need to be careful, Naruto. I doubt that the kyuubi gives you its chakra freely." Kakashi warned._

_"I know that Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto piped up, "He always goes on about how I should be thankful for his help, and how if I die, he dies."_

At the time Kakashi had been focused more about the fact that Naruto was actually talking to the Kyuubi already than about the fact that Naruto and the Kyuubi's lives were one and the same. But now, that small fact gave Kakashi hope; banishing most of the grief from him. He doubted that the Kyuubi would allow a mere genin to kill him. It might be an evil creature, but all creatures have a will to live regardless.

With his mind made up, Kakashi turned back towards Konoha. He would escort the retrieval team back to the village and brief the Hokage. From there a search party would be sent and Naruto would be found. He had to believe that.

"You look for Naruto, Pakkun. If he was able to use enough of the fox's chakra he might have survived. I'll take care of the rest of the team."

Putting all his faith on this one hope, Kakashi sped off into the trees, leaving Pakkun to his search.

XXXXX

Rain continued to fall as the storm slowly made its way west, blanketing most of the Fire and surrounding countries. Along a desolate roadway, a carriage made a final push and was freed from the mud which trapped it. With a holler the driver whipped the horses pulling the cart, sending them traveling along the road. He quickly waved back, showing his thanks to the two cloaked figures who stood behind on the road, watching the cart drive away.

The two men contrasted each other at a quick glance. One was of medium height and build, judging by how his red cloud embroidered cloak wrapped around his legs in the wind. The other dwarfed his companion, standing almost a foot taller and filled out his cloak much more across the shoulders, suggesting a heavily muscled frame. The handle of the two-handed sword strapped to his back stuck out as well, contrasting his seemingly unarmed companion. Their large bamboo hats covered most of their faces from unwelcome eyes, and also served to ward against the downpour.

"I still don't see why we stopped to help him. What do we care if an old man stands out in the rain or not?" asked the larger figure, glancing down at the other as he spoke.

"Our goal is to be as unobtrusive as possible. If the villages of the Fire Country got wind of our whereabouts it would only cause trouble later." The shorter man explained, turning in the opposite direction of where the carriage went. "Besides, men tend to complain about help they didn't receive a lot more than they talk about the help they got." His explanation earned him a grunt in reply.

"Let's get going, Kisame."

Grumbling, Kisame turned to follow Itachi. They had been on the move since their run in with Jiraya of the Sannin, never stopping for long in any given place. At the present time they were on the move from the Hot Springs Country, skirting the border between the Fire Country and the Rice Field Country as they aimed toward the Akatsuki base. Apparently Pein was having every member of the organization return; something about waiting to acquire the jinchuricki's. Kisame didn't really understand it, and, frankly, didn't want to. He didn't really care why they were doing things, he just wanted to see this so called "World of Truth" as Pein called it, and fight. The maneuvering and political crap just complicated things.

They trudged along the old trade road which was in severe disrepair. Taking the road less traveled might have its advantages when trying to stay hidden, but easy travel definitely was not on that list. Numerous potholes dotted the road, and in some places entire pieces of the stone slabs that made it up were missing. Back in the day it would have held a lot of traffic, judging by its width, but that was no longer true. There weren't even any interesting locations along their route apart from the Valley of End, and they had only just passed that a couple of hours ago. Kisame frowned slightly at the memory, in truth he had been sort of excited to be at the scene of such a monumental battle. However once they paused at the location he was disappointed. While it was impressive, it looked exactly like all the pictures; nothing new.

They had passed through without incident, sensing some chakra signatures coming towards the valley, but they left before being discovered. Kisame had wanted to stay behind and test whoever came, even if the signatures were only low-chunnin level, but Itachi wouldn't stand for it, insisting that they avoid any incidents.

And so they found themselves walking in the rain.

They walked in silence, mostly because any attempts at conversation by the blue-skinned man were answered with as few words as possible, or by the traditional Uchiha 'Hn'. So they walked in silence, only broken by the occasional animal that would scurry away from a nearby bush or tree, until Kisame's sword, Samehada, started to shiver.

Somewhat startled by the noise, the duo stopped. Itachi looked quizzically at Kisame, while the shark-man merely shrugged, indicating that he had no idea why the sword was acting up. Unstrapping the weapon from his back, Kisame stroked the wrappings and closed his eyes, trying to get Samehada to tell him something. It was a moment before he said anything.

"Apparently there is a chakra source nearby that has Samehada interested." explained Kisame, pointing into the woods on one side of the path with the massive blade. In response to the motion, Samehada shivered again, this time more violently. Wasting no time Itachi and Kisame ventured forth, using Samehada like a metal detector, swinging the sentient blade back and forth. As they got closer, Samehada shivered more and more, while Kisame grew more excited by the minute.

"Looks like I'll have some fun after all, 'eh Itachi?" said Kisame, grinning and showing off his rows of serrated teeth.

Itachi didn't respond.

Soon they came upon a river just downstream from a white-water rapid; it was here that Samehada went still. No matter which direction Kisame pointed the blade there was no reaction. They stood there for a moment, on guard and surveying the landscape for any indication of life. Minutes passed while nothing happened, and eventually Kisame gave up.

"Well, looks like it was nothing..." he started but stopped when he saw a flash of orange in the rapids upstream. Curious, Kisame turned to point it out to Itachi, but stopped when he saw his partner's eyes glued upstream as well. The blob of orange traveled closer to them, tumbling through the rapids where it eventually got close enough to where the duo could make out that it was, in fact, a body.

Itachi's eyes narrowed as the body floated closer, already fairly certain of its identity, while Kisame ran onto the river's surface, squinting as he ran towards the object of interest.

"Holy shit! Is that...?" Kisame exclaimed as he ran upstream and intercepted the body, hoisting it up by its shirt with a single arm.

"Haha! It is! The frickin' kyuubi jinchuriki!" Shouted Kisame, a feral grin overtaking his face. "I wonder what happened to him."

A single glance at the jinchuriki would tell even the densest of people that he had been in a fight. He wore only a black t-shirt and his bright orange pants, both of which were torn and damaged. There was a giant hole in the center of Naruto's black shirt; right above his heart, yet the skin underneath was undamaged. In fact, despite the decrepit look of his clothes there were no cuts or bruises on Naruto, something that piqued Itachi's curiosity. Itachi approached Kisame in order to inspect the boy, and was startled at what he found. While there were no injuries on him, the skin where the gaping hole in his shirt was appeared to be fresh scar tissue, somewhat like the skin underneath a scab, all pink and soft. Upon closer inspection Itachi also found that a gash-like area across the bridge of Naruto's nose as well as his entire left arm was composed of this scar tissue. Itachi was certain that Naruto hadn't been like this during their previous encounter, he had a knack for noticing those kinds of discrepancies that indicated previous wounds which could be targeted on an opponent. But he had seen no such signs on Naruto, indicating that whatever had happened to him had happened recently.

_No, it couldn't be..._thought Itachi, his thoughts drifting back to the chakra signatures at the Valley of End. _I thought that one of them might be Sasuke, which is why I was so insistent that we leave, and if I know anything about Naruto it would have been him following Sasuke. Could it be that these wounds were inflicted only hours ago?_

"Itachi!" Kisame's voice snapped the Uchiha out of his thoughts. "What are we gonna do with the brat?"

It took only a moment for Itachi to answer, but in that moment a thousand thoughts ran through his head.

_This was not supposed to happen. Jiraya was supposed to stop us from getting Naruto; but I can't just release him, too much is riding on my infiltration of Akatsuki and Madara. What am I supposed to do? If I release him, I lose my standing with Akatsuki and Madara and Jiraya loses his contact in Akatsuki. However if I allow Naruto to be taken I risk Danzo's wrath being taken out on Sasuke. But why was Sasuke traveling towards the Sound Village? And, if I'm right about the wounds, why was Naruto fighting him?_

_Orochimaru..._

_That's the only explanation that fits. I know he still wants the sharingan, and since he can't get mine he most likely sought out Sasuke. He probably offered Sasuke the power to kill me; as if I don't already have enough on my plate. Calm down Itachi, focus. We still have a few days until we reach the base. Hopefully Naruto will regain consciousness and I can question him in the Tsukuyomi. But in the meantime there is only one thing I can do..._

"We take him with us. That was our task after all." Itachi replied turning and creating a crow on a nearby rock.

"What's the clone for?" Kisame questioned as he hung Naruto on the tip of Samehada and carried the boy like a bindle.

"I'm informing Pein of our success" Itachi replied as the crow took fight. The duo continued on their way, but only one was aware of the fact that as they walked, the crow split into two.

XXXXXX

A/N: And there is chapter 2. Dang, almost 6K word count. Finally summer is here and I can start writing again! Not really sure what to think about the new Naruto chapters, but then again I have always hated how Naruto refused to 'grow up' as an entire series after the time skip. Anyway, can't do anything about the canon story, but I can control how my Fanfic pans out. So fair warning, I hope to make my story much darker. As my favorite quote says "When I was a kid everything was black and white, cowboys and Indians. Then I grew up and found that there was only grey..."

Well, thanks for reading and putting up with my quirky updates and the whole rewriting the story thing. Plus I have a question: What do you guys think of a futuristic Naruto fanfic for my next story? Purely in the brainstorming stage and I _will _finish this story before staring another, but I was brainstorming something that was very Blade Runner-esque. Anyway, just thought I'd shoot that idea off since I haven't really found any good futuristic Naruto Fanfic. Tell me what y'all think.


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